The present invention relates in general to ballistic weapons and in particular to a new and useful large caliber gun insert which reduces the caliber of projectile fired from the gun while at the same time more closely mimicking the characteristics and operations of the gun when using full sized rounds.
Modern combat tanks carry guns which, as a rule, have calibers between 90 and 120 mm. For training the crews of such tanks, it is absolutely necessary to practice firing under most various and as far as possible true combat conditions, in addition to service practice. It is, however, understood that certain limits are set for such training. The high cost of ammunition and lack of sufficiently extensive training grounds are the main causes for such limits.
To overcome these problems or problems connected thereto, it has been known for a long time to employ tube or barrel inserts in large-caliber weapons. This makes it possible to practice with a smaller caliber ammunition which is relatively less expensive and can be used on smaller-range shooting grounds.
The use of barrel inserts however is still limited in many respects.
Since cartridges for combat tanks, thus those of calibers between 90 and 120 mm as a rule, are ignited electrically, the system-immanent opening, closing the igniting mechanism requires adaptation to the usual mechanically pyrotechnical ignition of the small-caliber ammunition. In view of the total number of combat tanks involved, such an adaptation amounts to intolerable costs which must be incurred at the start and the end of any training period.
Another limitation relates to the ballistics of the modified gun. With training of the crews under realistic conditions, which includes firing at targets in the range of about 2,000 meters from firing stands or moving positions and by day and night, no suitable smaller caliber ammunition is available as of yet.
Another drawback in the use of prior art barrel inserts is that the gun loader must practice under unrealistic conditions since the smaller caliber ammunition does not correspond to the larger caliber combat ammunition, neither in geometry nor in weight. The loader is thus trained in handling ammunition which is not equivalent to that used in actual combat.